(8) You are loved (8)

So today was a pretty good day for me. I started off the day by going to conference with Alan. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I was so excited, and the session was so good. You know, I know that there's more than 13 million members of the church, but I love that certain speakers can get up and I feel like they know who I am. I can just feel their unconditional love for each member.

I really just felt loved today, and to be honest, it's been kind of a while since I've really felt like there some was someone who honestly loved me.

This will segway into my next topic. I thought a lot about being little kids today. It was my sister's birthday yesterday and so we had our little family part tonight. I was pretty excited because my cute little cousins come over on occasions like this and I haven't seen them for quite a while because of busy schedules and stuff. So I just love that when they walk in the door the first thing they do is yell my name and run over and give me a huge hug. It just makes me feel so good to see the goodness and the pure love that they have. After they ran in the door, they immediately wanted me to come and play with them. So we ended up jumping on the trampoline, which really means that they sat in the middle and I bounced them until my thighs started burning. It was so great to see them for a little while. They probably don't know how much they mean to me, but really I look up to them a lot.

How great would it be if everytime I saw someone that I love that I would rush to their side, hug them, and let the know that I really do care about them? When did we all lose that type of pure love? Now things are so much more complicated. Rushing to the side of a boy and hugging him as tightly as possible means some different things than it did when I was five. haha I sometimes wish that I could just go back to being as open and loving as most little children are. Wouldn't I be so much cooler if I just invited everyone to play with me no matter who they were? It sounds pretty corny, but really can't all of us think of multiple times when we've felt left out of something you wish you could have been involved in? And haven't there been times when someone's included you and you nearly cried because you were so happy that they thought of you? I know I can. I've tasted both sides of that pancake, and I know which side has the sweetest syrup. (That was a good analogy... oh, yeah)

I guess that I'm just trying to say that I know why we're supposed to become as little children. Most little kids are inclusive and excited about things. I wrote a little while ago about daring to be enthusiastic. I'm not saying that I'm going to run around hugging everyone and yelling their names and stuff, but really and sincerely being enthusiastic about other people's successes or just being there for other people.

President Monson touched on the importance of people today. He talked about how our problems shouldn't become more important than the people in our lives. I thought it was a really good point. I've definitely fallen victim to the stress thing, and it really hasn't done me any good. But listening to and caring about people will always get me somewhere.

Conference was really good this weekend, and so was my day. I learned a lot from the people around me, and I'm ready to try and implement a few things into my life. I'm starting out small, because sometimes I tend to put way too many things on my plate at one time. But these small changes will help me out in the long run. I'm ready to find joy in the journey. I'm ready to stop dwelling on things that I can't fix. My friends may be gone, but I still have a life to live here. I still have people here that will help me, and I'll help them too. Things might be changing, but I'm going to do my very best to find joy in things. It's going to be difficult, but it will be something that will really help me be a better and happier person.

Today was good. I'm still struggling with a few things, but I feel a renewed faith to press on and do good. Things are going to be all right. I just need to press on with hope and faith. I really hope that you're all doing well. I say that every night, but please know that I always mean it. Good night, friends. Good luck with everything you're doing right now. You are loved. Josh Groban said so. (I totally stole that from James... so funny.)

-Fluffy